1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of forming the canopy of an umbrella, such as but not limited to large outdoor/recreational umbrellas, so as to display a selected pattern on the canopy. The method of this invention allows for a variety of pleasing and/or intricate patterns to be created on fabric and then displayed in alignment, despite there being a plurality of fabric pieces used to form the umbrella canopy, such that the resulting canopy has a finished look. Compared to the few known ways of creating an umbrella canopy, the method of the present invention offers significant savings in terms of production and assembly time, and other associated costs.
2. Description of the Related Art
It seems there have traditionally been only a limited number of ways to create the canopy of fabric that makes up an umbrella, and in particular, the fabric which covers the ribs of the umbrella frame that allow it to open and close. Perhaps the most common way of creating the canopy is to take a single large piece of fabric and to form it into a circle or other shape suitable matched to that of the umbrella frame in the open position. Of course, if the umbrella is of the type used at outdoor cafés, pool areas and the like, the canopy may be so large as to require stitching together of two or more pieces of fabric together. This generally does not present any problems when the canopy is made of a single solid color, although when it is desired to make the canopy with a fabric having a pattern, greater effort is required to ensure that the pattern will line up once the fabric pieces have been assembled into the canopy. This may be the primary reason that most outdoor recreational umbrellas are seen to have a canopy of a single color, whether blue, green, red, etc.
Of course, umbrella canopies can and do incorporate fabric having a pattern thereon. For instance, some hand-held umbrellas have a canopy with plaid patterns, stripe patterns, polka dots, etc. Due to their relatively small size, however, and the ability to create their canopies with significantly less fabric, the additional effort required to achieve a pleasing finished appearance is not great. As such, the canopy formation of hand-held umbrellas will not be considered further with regard to this application, as the invention described subsequently herein will primarily be discussed in connection with large, outdoor recreational umbrellas, where much more fabric is needed, including typically several pieces of fabric that must be stitched together.
It is also possible for even these larger umbrellas to have canopies made with fabric having a pattern thereon, although due to the time and extra effort required to assemble such fabric correctly, including the extra fabric needed, they are not common. For instance, if a canopy made of a striped fabric is desired, it will require cutting the fabric into different pieces, arranging those pieces so that the stripes will line up and then assembling them together to keep that sequence in order to offer a finished look to the canopy once it is formed. In this process, more fabric is used and/or wasted to achieve the desired result of pattern alignment, with more time and labor involved as well. This, in turn, leads to a higher cost for such umbrella canopies than that associated with canopies made of a single solid fabric. In short, many would like to see and/or purchase outdoor recreational umbrellas with a wider variety of canopy fabrics and styles, and especially, canopies with interesting patterns thereon, but the costs associated with creating such canopies has traditionally been an obstacle to same.
Accordingly, there is a need in this field of art for a method of forming the canopy of an umbrella especially, but not necessarily exclusively, for large outdoor/recreational umbrellas, so as to have a pattern thereon which saves on the production time and other costs associated therewith. Any such method should involve the steps of cutting the fabric that will be used to make the canopy into different pieces, arranging those pieces so that the desired pattern will line up in the shape called for by the canopy, and then assembling them together in a manner which both offers the resulting canopy with a pattern having a finished look and with an ability to withstand the sometimes harsh outdoor elements to which it will be subjected. Any such method would ideally incorporate a planning step for the decorative pattern to repeat in sync despite the use of a plurality of pieces to make up the canopy, and also, the method would ideally be suited for creation of the fabric, including the pattern, by using advanced technology machines that incorporate looms, etc. and which are used in the industry of producing fabric.